Interpretive Summary: This introduction to the Ancillary Symposium on "Genetic Technology Applied to Poultry Production" summarizes how modern genetic technology may improve poultry production, disease resistance, and help production of therapeutic biologicals.

Technical Abstract:
Although classical genetics has significantly contributed to animal agriculture such as the gain in animal productivity, breeding efficiency, and selection of desirable biological traits, the advances in molecular genetics, including DNA cloning, sequencing, genotyping, and DNA microarray technology in recent years, hold additional promise for further improvements in animal production, health, and well being, and their exploitations for purposes other than food. This include, transgenic production of therapeutic biologicals. Poultry products are one of the most popular animal proteins in the world and therefore, it is not surprising that there is a concerted effort to improve its production through modern technology. With the expected U.S. production in 2003 at 33,000 billion pounds of broiler meat and 6,110 million dozen table eggs, and the continued pressure to abstain from chemicals and antibiotics, the poultry industry must accommodate these public and social demands. Such technologies will improve economically important traits such as disease-resistance and production, allow better growth of birds, provide a means to achieve pathogen reduction to improve food safety, and create novel uses for poultry for the production of therapeutically important biologicals. With these thoughts in mind, the Ancillary Symposium on "Genetic Technology Related to Poultry Production" was organized, in conjunction with the 49th Annual Poultry Science meeting, to include 15 speakers with presentations on different aspects of genetic technology that may have relevance to the future of poultry production. The topics include novel areas of immunomodulation, genetic markers, physiological and disease genomics, and advances in transgenic technologies.